The fervor surrounding Game of Thrones is slightly less rabid than it was this time last year. Make no mistake: the show is still insanely popular. But with a delayed Season 7 and no deathly Jon Snow cliff-hanger to puzzle out, the cast and crew could look forward to a marginally more relaxed San Diego Comic-Con panel this year. And while Game of Thrones has become famous for being one of the big Hall H panels that doesn’t reveal much, the room was still packed with fans eager to share the room with their favorite Westerosi faces.

Sophie Turner—who had a huge Season 6—headlined a panel that included Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton), Liam Cunningham (Ser Davos), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), Conleth Hill (Varys), Faye Marsay (The Waif) and Kristian Nairn (Hodor). Show -unners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss—who skipped the Con last year in the midst of the Jon Snow mystery—were on hand for a panel moderated by their friend and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob McElhenney.

“Sophie Turner made us all take shots of vodka before we came out here,” Benioff cracked upon taking the Hall H stage with the cast on Friday afternoon. Although Turner, who is just 20, clarified that she absolutely did not encourage her co-stars to imbibe, a directive from the Sansa actress would not have seemed entirely out of character. Last season, viewers watched as Sansa, like the other women of the series, reclaimed a considerable amount of power.

While in San Diego, Turner reflected on her character’s newfound strength and ambition, sharing that she does not think Sansa is “so keen on the Iron Throne anymore.” That doesn’t mean she would cede power entirely to Jon Snow, however.

“[Sansa] believes they should both be King and Queen of the North,” Turner said. “I don’t believe she thinks Jon is capable of running Winterfell and the North.”

In case you were curious why Turner thinks Snow is unfit for solo throne responsibilities, the actress continued, “[Sansa] doesn’t think he has the intellect, the knowledge, and the experience that she has, and I concur.”

Turner also offered her interpretation of the look that her character exchanged with Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) in the season finale, after Snow was declared King of the North.

“There’s always a bit of sibling rivalry between Sansa and Jon; there has been since they were very young,” Turner said. “I think that look between Sansa and Littlefinger is her kind of acknowledging that his points are somewhat legitimate, and she’s kind of intrigued as to that pretty, little picture that he painted of him on the Iron Throne and her by his side.

“She’s kind of thinking, ‘Well, he’ll give me the credit that I deserve,’” Turner continued. “But it’s very interesting to see where her loyalties will now lie—whether she’ll go with Jon or Littlefinger.”

As for why Sansa did not tell Jon about the Knights of the Vale, Turner explained that Sansa “wanted all the credit, and it was a more dramatic moment when they showed up. It made for really good television.”

Some fans of the book have wondered in recent years how much information George R.R. Martin may have given the show-runners, so that they could map out the series while the author and G.O.T. mastermind hurried to finish off his sixth book, The Winds of Winter. During the panel discussion, the show-runners alluded to information Martin gave them two or three years ago—which included Hodor’s fate. (At this point, the audience chanted “hold the door” at Nairn, who played the beloved character.)

Meanwhile, Miguel Sapochnik, who directed the final two episodes of the sixth season, said he would very much like to return to direct the eighth season, as he is skipping the next. He also revealed that during the penultimate episode, “Battle of the Bastards,” producers had originally wanted horses to encircle Jon Snow during the titular scene—but budgetary and logistical constraints had made it impossible.

With the season’s body count as high as ever, Bradley, who plays Sam, was asked how he would like his character to die—should that fate find him. Bradley joked that he hoped Sam would “tipple backwards” off a high bookshelf in the Citadel. “It wasn’t battle that killed him,” Bradley said, mock dramatically, “it was books.”

And while those Game of Thrones fans may not have gotten the answers to their most burning questions (who is Jon Snow’s father? how long will Cersei sit on the Iron Throne? where is Gendry?), they did get a treat or two in the form of a G.O.T. blooper reel and a montage featuring McElhenney and his It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-star Charlie Day edited into various scenes from the HBO drama. (“Have you seen that play about the Lannisters? Sooooo funny,” joked Day. “When the fuck is winter coming?” wondered McElhenney.)

Considering Game of Thrones Season 7 hasn’t even started filming yet, there weren’t many other hints in the offing. San Diego Comic-Con attendees will just have to wait—along with everyone else—to see what happens when winter comes to Westeros next summer.